The New Neighbor
by courtney-grimmett77
Summary: Casey is a normal teenager with family problems. As summer vacation rolls around, so does a creepy old lady. What she tells Casey is to die for. Literally.
1. Chapter 1

Casey Horn was your average teen with an average family. She made good grades in school, and her life seemed to be near perfect. She had medium curly blonde hair, with deep blue eyes. She was the strong silent type whom everyone trusted. Casey's mom, Margaret, was a housewife. She always kept the family organized and made sure things in the household ran smoothly. Casey's father, Dan, was a lawyer who almost never came home. When Casey did see him, he was usually about to go to bed. With this type of arrangement, Margaret felt she needed more from a family. She decided to divorce Dan, and surprisingly, she didn't file for custody over Casey. The mere thought of living with someone who was never home sent chills through Casey. She knew summer was only a week away and, with no school to attend to, she would be home by herself all day and most of the night. The last few days of school passed by slowly for other students, but Casey wished it would never end. The first evening of summer vacation is one Casey will never forget. She was on her front porch overlooking the dusty highway when an old, unfamiliar car slowly pulled up to the vacant house next door to her. Reluctantly, she walked towards the vehicle after it had pulled into the driveway. An old lady slowly trudged out of the car. "Hello," said Casey quiet loudly incase the lady was hard of hearing. "Why hello," said the old lady in a raspy voice. "Who are you?" Casey asked wearily. "None of your darn business." the old lady said grouchily. Quickly, Casey knew she must say something a bit more welcoming. "Well, I'm Casey Horn, your new next door neighbor I presume." she said as if asking a question. "Yes, I have bought this house, but stay away. What I do in this house is MY business and will remain MY business. If you do or say anything about me to anyone else, you will regret it." the old lady said mysteriously. Casey had a chill run down her spine, and she quickly said good-bye. Hastily, Casey ran inside and locked the door. She decided to lie on the couch for awhile. She noticed every detail in the sitting room from the cherry hard wood floors to the soft yellow paint on the clean walls. She began to miss her mother. Casey decided to take a short nap and clear her mind. Just as she would begin to close her eyes, she would hear those frightening words the old lady said. She didn't even know her name yet, and frankly, she didn't care if she ever found out. Little did Casey know, she would uncover more than just the old lady's name. Later that night, around 7:00, her eyes wearily opened when the loud ringing of the telephone echoed from the kitchen. She ran to answer it, but the person on the other line had hung up already. There was a message on the answering machine. It was Dan telling Casey he was staying at a local hotel about 1 hour away from the house for about a week. He said for Casey to buy food with the money hidden in the safety deposit box. This was nothing new to her. She knew it just mean her dad found a new girlfriend for the week. The mere thought sent rage through her. Suddenly, she heard a soft pecking noise at the front door. Slowly, it turned into a loud, hard knock. She looked through the peep hole, a bit frightened. It was Dora, her best friend. Thankfully, she opened the door. She was extremely happy that it wasn't the old lady. Dora only dropped by to see if Casey wanted to go to the movies, but after all that had went on, she decided to stay home. Casey showered and then went straight upstairs to bed. However, she didn't go to sleep. A soft night's rain turned into a huge thunder storm. The house creaked and wind blew harshly through the tree beside her bedroom window. After the storm passed by, she began to fall asleep.  
The soft sunlight peeking through her sheer curtains warmed her face. One eye opened and then shut again. She wanted so badly to just go to sleep and never wake up. She felt as if she was keeping a secret for the old lady, even though she knew nothing about her. She decided to clean up and take breakfast over to the old lady. The worst she could do was telling Casey to leave, so she thought.  
Casey knocked politely on the old door of the lady's house. The old lady, gray headed and hunchbacked, answered the door after a few knocks. Casey smiled, and her gorgeous white teeth sparkled. The lady gave an odd smirk. "Hey, I'm .." Casey said. Interrupted by the old lady saying "I know who you are." Casey's smile began to fade into a straight face. The old lady, trying to be nice, finally introduced herself. "Sorry young lady, my name is Mildred." Feeling that she was getting somewhere, Casey politely indulged in a conversation. Mildred wasn't saying much, but Casey kept on and on.  
After getting the feeling that she needed to leave, Casey cautiously walked home. She decided to clean the house, and make a cheeseburger. Actually, Casey liked running things around the house. The only thing she hated was the nights. She would get a lump in her throat every time the sun began to dwindle behind the plush green mountains.  
She decided to watch the sun go down, thinking that may stifle her fear of the night. She began to have a calm sensation come over her. This was the first time of her summer vacation that she actually felt relaxed. Her eyes began to close as the swing slowly rocked and a sweet summer's breeze hit her face. She must have fallen asleep for when she opened her eyes, Mildred was looking right in her face. Startled, she rudely yelled, "What in the heck are you doing?!" Mildred jumped back as if appalled. Casey apologized and began to explain the situation. As if out of nowhere, Mildred stopped her and told a very long story that Casey wished her ears never heard.  
Mildred started with a shy smile and said, "Dear, you must hear this to understand me. A very long time ago, I was a young, shy, nerdy, and naïve girl. I was never the popular kid like you. I had a secret crush, but I kept it to myself. When I was in eleventh grade, this boy, Stew, asked me to our high school's dance. Excitedly, I said yes. When the formal night came, I had a beautiful pink dress on. I knew I would finally make Stew, my crush, my boyfriend. He never showed up. Two hours later, I rode my bike to the school, only to find him kissing another girl during a slow song. The night, I got my vengeance. I killed the school's prom queen. This wasn't just your average killing. The grief and ridicule had built up on me for many years, and that night, it exploded. I was oh so very careful and discrete. I got a certain high from it. During college, my friends did drugs and drank alcohol. I killed young students. Knowing I could be caught and severely punished put a certain mysterious feeling to my little "game." My favorite part was the planning before the killings. I had to make up a believable story for the background of my next victim's death. Also, I would have to make a plan as to how the killing took place and what my alibi would be. To this day, I have killed over a hundred people. I move every year or so, and find fresh and different people to strike on. Now that I'm older and don't have anyone to talk to, I usually go for anyone who tells my little secret ... Usually." Traumatized by what she just heard, Casey felt her inside be gulped up by fear. What would she do next? She was living next door to a murderer, and she was alone. If she would tell, she jeopardized her own life, but if she didn't tell, she was still in danger. What should she do? 


	2. Chapter 2

She couldn't think. Her head clouded up and she began to feel dizzy. She ran inside and locked the door. Fear and suspense raged through her like fire. She was almost paralyzed by all of the different emotions she was feeling. After a warm shower, she knew she would feel better. When she got out, she felt clean and relaxed. She turned around to brush her hair in the mirror and screamed a shrilling yelp. In the fog on the mirror was written: I kill the ones that tell my secret!  
Casey ran to her room and grabbed her robe. She decided to get dressed and stay in her room. After about three minutes of just waiting in her room, she knew she had to check the house. Just as she walked down the stairs, Mildred slowly walked in front of her. Something was glistening in her hand that caught Casey's eye. Very calmly, Mildred said "I know exactly how to do thing, and I know my alibi. Don't mess this up Casey. With One swipe, it will be over. Shhhh, don't scream or make any loud suspicious noises. This will be fun." Casey couldn't scream if she wanted to. She had been overcome by horror. Mildred suddenly snapped a large knife in the air. Casey could hear swipes of wind as Mildred would swing the knife faster and faster. She began to get clammy, and she couldn't see in the dark staircase. She got lightheaded and almost fainted. Mildred swung hard and it almost hit Casey. Instead, it went into the wall. Casey began crying, but she didn't know if her tears were due to anger or horror. At that point, she didn't care. All she remembers is tackling Mildred. She also recalls the knife falling out of Mildred's hand.  
When Casey woke up, she was in a hospital. They said she just needed to rest, but Mildred was a little worse. She had a broken rib, and a slight concussion. They didn't think at her age that she would pull through when they took her off the breathing system. Casey decided to go and say good-bye before they cut off her oxygen. Just as Casey was about to leave to go home, the doctors came in and took her off. Casey, feeling a bit strange, sat down in a chair beside Mildred's bed. Suddenly, one of Mildred's eyes opened and she quickly and firmly grabbed Casey's wrist. She quietly whispered, "You thought you could kill me by not giving me oxygen? Ha! I'm ALIVE dear, and ..." she paused and took a deep breath, "dear, you must hear this to understand me." Those were the same dreadful words she had told Casey that awful night on her porch when she first found out about all of the killings. Even though Casey wasn't thinking straight, she did know one thing. Mildred and her murdering weren't over, and she may be next! 


	3. Chapter 3

The mere thought of all her nightmares rushed about her and she screamed. The nurses ran into the room to see what was wrong. Beep, Beep, Beeeeeeeep ................ It was over. In the midst of all the excitement, Mildred's heart had failed. Her tight grip around Casey's arm slowly let go until the tip of her finger was slightly touching Casey's wrist. She quickly jerked away, not wanting Mildred's cold dead hand touching her. The nurse's made Casey leave the room. She had to walk home, since her dad was still at the hotel. Walking would help her clear her mind anyway. She decided not to tell her dad about what had happened, considering Mildred was dead and all. It would be a smarter thing to do. She did, however, decide to go to the police and tell them Mildred's secret. Just as she approached the station, something caught her eye. It was pale and looked as if it was almost floating. Wait! Was that MILDRED??!! 


End file.
